Flyers switch up practice lines

VOORHEES, N.J. – The composition of the Flyers’ top four lines Thursday was remarkably different compared to the units starting the last game.

While such changes would be considered significant on any team, Flyers coach Peter Laviolette dismissed it as no big deal. Certainly not the desperate tinkering you would expect from a Type A coach who basically needs a three-game winning streak just to get back in the playoff hunt.

“I wouldn’t read anything into it,” Laviolette said after a lengthy practice at the Skate Zone. “We were missing guys out on the ice today, so you can probably scratch that story off.”

Flyers veteran Mike Knuble was excused from work for personal reasons. He hasn’t played on any line lately for a team (13-16-1, 27 points) that has a 90 percent chance of failing to reach the playoffs, according to calculations by Playoffstatus.com. Knuble has been scratched often enough that there was speculation -- unfounded -- that he might have been waived.

Flyers center Max Talbot was given what club executive Paul Holmgren described as a “maintenance day” even though the Flyers have been off the past two days. Talbot played on the third line in the Flyers’ last game, a 4-2 loss at Tampa Bay.

In the event Laviolette was mistaken about juggling the lines, left winger Scottie Hartnell would be the biggest loser.

Hartnell was removed from the first line after a roughing penalty in the second period against the Lightning, although he hung around with the first-team power play. Based on practice, Hartnell is buried on the third line with Ruslan Fedotenko and Zac Rinaldo. The Flyers’ top line at practice was Matt Read, Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek.

“I haven’t been playing that great and to be on the top line you’ve got to be able to keep up with them and not slow them down,” Hartnell said. “I wasn’t doing both of those things. Obviously I’ve got to play better and just get back to the simple things.”

Hartnell doesn’t believe the change is punitive. He said he had a good talk with Laviolette about his start, followed by the 16-game absence due to a fractured left foot, his return, and recent struggles.

“I’m still not where I want to be and it’s frustrating,” Hartnell said. “A couple of bad penalties here and there and the message has been sent. It’s how I react to that and how I go forward from today on.”

The Flyers have asked a lot out of Hartnell, who has two goals and three assists in 14 games. Hartnell smiled when it was suggested the coach might be trying to reach his teammates through him.

“I wouldn’t say ‘whipping boy’ but definitely in the past, especially with Lavvy, messages were sent to me,” Hartnell said. “And I don’t mind it. I think I needed it, to be honest. You sit on the bench and watch the guys play. I had a couple of shifts, and I think those were probably my best shifts in half a dozen games, in the third period there (at Tampa). It’s about how you respond to what happens.

“I had a great practice today. I’m working hard. Just trying to, I don’t want to say get back in the good books, but I don’t want to keep this on a downward spiral, that’s for sure.”

The Flyers don’t play again until Sunday, when they hit the road to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins. That starts a flurry of five games in eight days, most of them at the Wells Fargo Center.

Until then, the Flyers won’t know if what will be five days between games was cathartic or helpful.

“It was a good practice today,” said Laviolette, who hasn’t missed the playoffs since taking over as coach of the Flyers. “The guys worked really hard out there. It was upbeat. You’ve only got a couple of avenues here you can choose here to go down. One of them is to continue to fight and push and look for a win. The other one is an ugly one and we definitely don’t want to go down that road. I think the guys were positive and they worked hard today.”